William Orbit (born William Mark Wainwright; 15 December 1956)[1] is an English musician, composer and record producer who has sold 200 million recordings worldwide of his own work, his production and songwriting work. He is a recipient of multiple Grammy Awards, Ivor Novello Awards and other music industry awards.

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Orbit (Wainwright) was raised in Shoreditch, in East London.[1] His parents were both schoolteachers; he was the older of two sons.[1] Despite his parents' objections, he left school at the age of 16, and subsisted for a number of years in various low-paying jobs, while seeking an outlet for his creativity.[1][1] Around this time, while rooming with a friend who was trying to start a recording studio, Orbit found his musical calling.[1]

In 1980 Orbit teamed up with Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert to form the electronic/synth group Torch Song. They initially self-released recordings in an audio cassette series, generated from their home-built studio in a disused school in Notting Hill Gate, in London, alongside the Grand Union Canal. Neville Brody, the graphic designer, joined the band for a period. Orbit and Mayer were also visual artists and created a series of art magazines called The Ralph Hoover Guide in which he drew surrealist cartoons. The issues were sold at various London galleries and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in The Mall. Richard Law, who was the A&R for IRS Records, was a follower of their music and aesthetic, and took it to industry mogul Miles Copeland, who had discovered and managed the Police and the Bangles in 1981. When Copeland signed them to the label the deal enabled them to build their ideal studio. There they recorded two albums and four singles,[2] the most successful being the dance chart hit “Prepare to Energize”,[3] which was featured in the film ‘Bachelor Party’.[4] They also composed the soundtrack to the ice hockey movie ‘Youngblood’,[5] starring Rob Lowe and Keanu Reeves, and another song “White Night” which was used in ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’.[6]

This first incarnation of Guerilla Studios had a Trident 80B mixing desk and Otari MTR90 MKII 24 track (2 inch tape) multitrack housed in a back garden on the canals of Little Venice[7] in Paddington, and they also ran it as a commercial enterprise.

Orbit had created remixes for Madonna previously such as "Justify My Love" and "Erotica" but he didn't meet her personally until 1997. That summer and autumn they wrote together and produced her multi-Grammy/award-winning seventh album Ray of Light. The album took four months to record and it was the longest she ever spent recording an album. It was released on 22 February 1998.

In 2000, Orbit continued his songwriting for Madonna's 2000 album Music recorded at The Hit Factory in New York and also co-wrote and performed the song "Beautiful Stranger".
The two joined up again for her 2012 album MDNA, co-writing and producing six of the tracks on the album. "Masterpiece" won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song in the Miramax movie "W.E.", at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.

Inspired and encouraged by Rob Dickins, his first commercial release in this genre was Pieces in a Modern Style. It was originally released in May 1995 on Orbit’s N-Gram Recordings label, and then again in 2000 by Warner Music in the UK and Europe, and on Maverick in the U.S. The album reached No 2 in the UK album charts. The first single release from the album was ‘Barber’s Adagio for Strings’, and a dance remix of the track by Dutch DJ Ferry Corsten was hugely successful. The single reached number 4[8][9] in the national singles chart. A follow up album, ′Pieces in a Modern Style 2′ came out in 2010, and was released as a two-disc set on the Decca label. He worked with German countertenor Andreas Scholl[10] on an interpretation of Henry Purcell’s Dido’s Lament which was featured on the album.

In 2007 he took part in Alex Poots’ Manchester International Festival, and composed a symphonic work in nine movements ‘Orchestral Suite’ which was performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, augmented by additional harps, pianos and percussion, and with The Manchester Chorale, conducted by Alexander Shelley at Bridgewater Hall.[11]

During the N'Gram period, he directed a showcase of the label at Queen Elizabeth Hall[12] on London's Southbank. The acts included Caroline Lavelle, The Electric Chamber (which performed the Pieces album) Strange Cargo, and Torch Song. Orbit included a range of power tools and angle grinders as part of the musical ensemble.

In 2001 he took part in the Stockhausen Electronic Festival[13] at the Barbican Theatre.

In 2013 he took part in the London Electronic Arts Festival[14] in Shoreditch, curated by Rob Da Bank and Ben Turner, in a lecture and multimedia music performance. The event was highlighted by the presentation of the 'Gogobot' a collaboration between himself and friend Rico Conning. The device is an cybernetic drum robot constructed from low tech components such as car lock actuators and signal relays, controlled by their own software. This is a venture that the two continue to develop in California.

He participated in the Liberatum International Cultural Festival[15] in Russia, during which he performed in Moscow and Novosibirsk, Siberia, and gave lectures.

More recently Orbit has deejayed at various clubs in London and Ibiza and at Buckingham Palace[16] for Her Majesty The Queen’s annual staff and family Christmas party.

He performed in 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and at a gala at Banqueting House in London's Whitehall for the charity Together For Short Lives, a group that sponsors and supports children with terminal illness and their families.[20]

A^ The original 1995 release was credited to the Orbit alias 'The Electric Chamber', but was withdrawn from sale almost immediately. Re-released in 2000 with additional tracks taking the place of un-cleared tracks from the first release.

B^ CD release has 4 additional tracks which are not available as a digital download

C^ Released on single CD and double CD including notable remixes, and a digital version with a bonus track